May 05, 2008 09:50 pm
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Another wrongly convicted person has been freed from prison. DNA testing proved his innocence. But 27 years of his life is gone.
James Lee Woodward, of Dallas, has become the 32nd person cleared of major felonies in Texas alone via DNA testing. Three more are likely to be set free in that state right away, pending a few procedural issues.
Woodward was to have served life for allegedly killing and raping his girlfriend.
He filed numerous writs maintaining his innocence. There were two alleged eyewitnesses, one who had earlier recanted.
His release stems from the Innocence Project in Texas. Spokesmen for that project gave much credit to the current district attorney’s office for its assistance.
These kinds of stories continue to mount around the nation. Texas holds the record right now. Ironically, it’s also a state know for its high rate of executions.
DNA science has added much greater dimension to forensic investigations. Unfortunately, we continue to read that persons wrongly convicted had to request over and over for DNA testing. And that is a glaring error in our system. If DNA evidence is available, that procedure should be automatic. The pursuit of justice must be centered around truth, not convictions. Convictions must be a result of truth.
When one watches the popular television series “CSI”, we are led to believe that DNA testing is as quick as issuing a parking ticket and is as available as the goodies from a gumball machine. Apparently not.
“No words can express what a tragic story yours is,” state District Judge Mark Stoltz told Woodard at a brief hearing before his release.
But after filing six writs with an appeals court, plus two requests for DNA testing, his pleas of innocence became so repetitive and routine that “the courthouse doors were eventually closed to him and he was labeled a writ abuser,” an Innocence Project spokesman said.
He even stopped attending his parole hearings because gaining his release would have meant confessing to a crime he didn’t do.
“It says a lot about your character that you were more interested in the truth than your freedom,” the judge told Woodard after making his ruling.
We often hear the public demands for swift punishment, particularly when it comes to death penalties. Fortunately for many wrongly convicted death row inmates and some lifers, truth that has exuded from modern science has prevailed over speed.
Our system works more times than it fails. But that’s only relevant if it’s not you or yours who has been wrongly convicted. Our system is not perfect, but we do have the knowledge to make it better. And that knowledge must be applied in tandem with wisdom.
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